The European Cup, known widely as the Heineken Cup and in France as the H Cup, was the premier club competition in Europe. The competition was governed European Rugby Cup Ltd (ERC), but was launched in 1995 following an initiative from the Five Nations committee to increase the top-level competition at club-level.

Qualifying teams were drawn from the English Premiership, Celtic League, French Top 14 and Italian Super 10, although each league has a different qualifying system.

The 24 qualifying teams were placed into six Pools of four, before the six Pool winners and two best-placed runners-up contest the quarter-finals. Tournament rounds occurred throughout the domestic season between October and May. The final of the tournament was held in a different participating country each year.

In 2013 the English and french clubs signaled their intention of breaking away from the ERC-run competition leading to the establishment of the European Rugby Champions Cup which started in 2014-15.